Page 134 of Secrets Beneath the Waves

Jules grabbed Kelli’s arm. “I thought you closed that.”

“I did.” Her friend’s voice shook. “What is going on, Jules?”

“I’m not sure.” She let go of Kelli. That dangerous heat that had gripped her twice before after this man had freaked her out flowed through Jules like a raging river. Lowering her voice, she said, “Kels. You and Brie go to the bathroom and lock yourselves in until Dante gets here.”

“No way. We’re not leaving you out here alone.”

“I’m only going to close and lock the door and then I’ll join you.”

Brie shook her head. “Absolutely not.”

Jules exhaled. “Fine. But stay back here.” She had to issue the directive, although she had no expectation that her friends would comply. She was right. As she stalked toward the balcony, she caught the sound of footsteps behind her.

Despite desperately trying to regulate her inhaling and exhaling, her breaths remained shallow and raspy. As soon as she was close enough to reach out and grasp the handle of the sliding door, she did so, ramming it into place and clicking the lock. For two seconds, she peered outside, but the far end of the balcony, away from the soft lighting in the living room, was shrouded in complete darkness. Jules yanked the curtains closed over the door before whirling around. Kelli clutched a china vase in one hand while Brie brandished a bronze candlestick in the air. Under other circumstances, Jules might have laughed.

Instead, she inclined her head toward the hallway leading to the bedroom and bathroom. “Let’s go.”

When they were halfway down the hallway, Kelli slipped her phone into the back pocket of her jeans and pushed open the bathroom door. Once they were all inside, Jules clicked that lock as well. The bedroom would have been preferable, since it also had a lock and they could have shoved the dresser in front of it for extra security. That room had a large window, though, while the bathroom was an interior room. Either way, it should takethe killer, if he was actually here, a bit of time to get inside the locked apartment. By then, Dante would have arrived. She hoped.

Brie set the candlestick on the closed toilet seat before lowering herself to the side of the tub. “Jules,” she whispered, shooting a look at the closed bathroom door, “What is happening? What haven’t you told us?”

Jules pressed an ear to the door. Silence on the other side. Her legs were weak, and she leaned back against the counter and crossed her arms. “All right, there is more to the story. The guy I saw kill that woman showed up at my house around four am the next morning.”

“What?” Kelli nearly shouted the word before slapping a hand over her mouth the way Jules had that night in the alley.

She uncrossed her arms and held up a hand. “It’s okay. I woke up and saw his face outside my window, but then he left without trying to get in.”

“Why? Why would he do that?” If anything, Brie’s face had grown paler, and she pressed a palm to the tub on either side of her as though she needed the support.

“Dante thinks he could be playing some kind of long game with me.”

Kelli lowered the vase to the bathroom counter. “That’s why he’s here.”

“Ifhe’s here, then yes, maybe.”

“What did you do when you saw the face?”

“I emailed Dante. He came over as soon as he got the message the next morning and checked around the place before calling in the crime scene investigators.”

“Did they find anything?”

“Only two shoeprints beneath my bedroom window.”

“Jules.” Brie released her name on a shuddering exhale. “You must have been going crazy the last couple of days. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I didn’t want to worry you. I kept hoping the police would track the guy down and then this would all be over.”

“But they haven’t.”

“No, they haven’t.” Jules’ voice carried a hard edge. “Mostly because, even though he made no attempt to hide it, their key witness can’t visualize the suspect’s face. Which means the guy is still out there, terrorizing me and who knows how many other women.”

Brie straightened. “That’s not your fault, Jules. You’re the bravest person I know. Most people wouldn’t even have had the courage to go to the police with what you saw, so don’t you dare put yourself down.”

Before Jules could respond to that, Kelli’s phone vibrated. She tugged it from her pocket and looked at it. “Someone’s at the entrance.”

“It must be Dante.”

After Kelli confirmed that it was him through the door camera app on her phone, she hit the button to release the lobby door. Jules pushed away from the counter. “Stay here. I’ll let him into the apartment.”